It is common in various surgical procedures to provide suction to the area of the surgery in order to remove blood and tissue which would hinder the surgeon's view. Similarly, irrigation by a saline solution is commonly provided to further help to ensure that the surgeon's view will be unhindered.
Suction and irrigation devices of the prior art have commonly been hand held instruments connected to a vacuum source, with suction provided continuously and irrigation provided only on demand (to prevent undesirable flooding of the surgical area).
Such devices have, however, sometimes clogged the suction tube with blood clots or tissue fragments, and entrapped bowel, omentum, oviduct and other tissues within the suction tube. Also, during laparoscopic uses (the possibilities of which have increased due to the recent introduction of laser modality), these problems are particularly aggravated by space limitations imposed by endoscopic modality. Still further, these devices commonly cause a noise during suction which can be irritating, adversely affecting the surgeon's concentration, and can interfere with communication among the surgical staff.
The present invention is directed toward overcoming one or more of the problems as set forth above.